Photography Challenge

Ok, here's the deal. I'm in a funk. I'm tired and I'm not feeling like I am doing anything well right now. I have three blog posts that I am working on, but have never finished. I have TONS of pictures and stories to update on, but haven't. My friend Elizabeth is learning to use her camera and I have needed to do this for a long time. I am going to work on the lessons and post my progress here.

 In the meantime you should check out her blog:pocketfulloflovelies.blogspot.com/ to see the adorable and incredibly creative things she has been working on! She is my wonderfully talented friend that made the girls' Big Sister/Little Sister outfits that they wore in the hospital.

Confessions of a Tired Mommy

I love my girls more than I can express, but I have a few confessions to make...

I don't drink coffee, but I do drink a can of Dr Pepper every day (with extra ice).

I really enjoy coloring in coloring books.

I plan my outings around NOT getting out of the car with both girls. I will drive out of the way to go to the bank with the drive through.

I sometimes resort to putting Aubrey in the carseat and taking her for a drive to get her to go to sleep. (More on this in the upcoming post: How I survived four months of colic)

Sometimes I turn up the heat just to put my baby next to the radiator so she will sleep.

Occasionally when we are out and about I stop at McDonald's and get Ella a Happy Meal because I know I am going to have to walk dogs and feed the baby when I get home and the idea of fixing lunch too is exhuasting.

I "guide" Ella's movie choices sometimes toward Ratatioulle or Cars because I just can't stand to watch another princess movie or any more Dora.

My guilty pleasures are watching old episodes of The OC and listenting to Taylor Swift.

After a long morning and a battle for a nap, sometimes instead of doing housework during the girls' nap I just sit in quiet and play on the computer or read a book.

I have a sugar problem. This is evidenced by my mid section and my recent root canal.   Sometimes I find bags of candy stuffed in weird places (like between the couch cusions).

I joined the choir at church because I really like to sing, but also so that I could have an hour and a half without the girls and to see my friends.

Aubrey is almost four months old and I still haven't finished my thank you notes or sent out her birth announcements.
I have about 5 projects that are unfinished because I keep getting distracted. I can't remember the last time I used my sewing machine.

Sometimes I still need my own Mommy.

Sisters

We are truly blessed. Ella is the best big sister. She loves her little sister (screaming and all) so much. She is really enjoying the smiles that Aubrey gives her and she would hold her all day long if we let her. That makes this Mommy so happy! 

Here are a few of their Valentine's Day pictures. Enjoy!

We made it to two months!!

It was a little touch and go there for awhile, but we made it! We are all incredibly sleep deprived and we have exceptionally strong calf and forearm muscles now from bouncing so much, but we survived. Just kidding, it wasn't that bad, but we are so glad that Aubrey has turned into the sweet girl that we saw glimpses of since December. It is so nice to hear cooing instead of crying and see smiles instead of tonsils. This last week has been glorious. She is still an eating machine and would like to be with Mommy all the time, but she is so pleasant now. We look forward to getting to know you better sweet girl!

Give me an R (R), Give me an S (S), Give me a V (V)...

What's that spell? A three day trip to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital!

A few weeks ago Big Sis got a nasty cold and was down for a few days. We knew it was probably inevitable that Little Sis would get to share in the experience. Sure enough, a few days later the snot was a pourin'. We watched her pretty closely, but for the most part she was doing pretty well, she never had a fever and wasn't having any trouble breathing. That all changed when I was giving her a bath. I noticed that she was starting to labor to breathe. I called my mom and said "Do you think I should call the Dr.?" Being the good nursing instructor that she is she immediately said "What do YOU think you should do?" I said "I think I should call the Dr." with which she replied "Good Plan!" Soooo, I called the Dr.'s office and luckily the girls' pediatrician was on call. I told her what was going on and she told me to go to the ER and that she would let them know I was coming. It's funny, they don't really like to mess around with babies that aren't breathing well.

Our friend Kim came over to hang out with Ella so Jimmie and I could take Aubrey to the hospital. When we arrived we had "reserved seating" (it's that babies not breathing well thing, gets you right in). Several doctors and nurses checked her out and we decided to try a breathing treatment. That actually made her breathing more labored, so we suctioned her several times, watched her and decided to stay in the hospital overnight for observation.

Getting a breathing treatment in the ER

She had mucous coming out of every orifice!

To make a four day long story very short, we ended up staying longer and putting her on oxygen. They also frequently suctioned her nose so that she could breathe better. The doctor said that I had caught the virus very early and I was glad that her worst days were spent in the hospital instead of at home where I had no oxygen or equipment to deep suction her.

She liked the hospital pacifiers

She slept in her car seat in the metal crib

She was pretty pleasant for being so sick

I was actually glad Ella wasn't there, being the overprotective big sister that she is, all these wires would have scared her.

The nurses and doctors were very kind and very good at their jobs. They all doted on her the whole time. Ella stayed with Kim during the days and Jimmie stayed with her at night. He came up each day for a couple of hours to relieve me so I could shower and rest a bit. 

The absolute worst part of the whole experience, aside from seeing my daughter sick was not seeing my other daughter in person at all for three days. I wasn't as worried as other parents might be because I knew I was in the right place and I knew what to look for if something went wrong. Not seeing Ella was horrible, though. Because it is RSV/Flu season they don't allow children under the age of 12 on the pediatric floors if they aren't patients, for good reason. We wouldn't want the healthy kids to get sick, or to bring other viruses in to compromised patients. We did get to Skype several times a day, but it was not the same as being able to snuggle up with her.

Aubrey did get better though, luckily without having to endure any more invasive procedures and eventually we got to come home. I was grateful for friends that helped out during that time and for the wonderful staff that cared for us. I now have just a glimpse of what it might feel like to have a sick child. I am much more empathetic and understanding now for those parents that have to stay in the hospital for months at a time. Thankfully other than a lingering cough for about a week, she was very healthy.

A New Day

We have not had a very good taste of Connecticut so far (besides our friends)!

So far since we got here:

Our truck with all of our belongings in it was three days late, so we had to sleep on the floor and we didn't get to set up Ella's room before she got here.

We experienced record breaking heat. I experienced it pregnant with no air-conditioning! Woohoo!

We went to the only close Nazarene church, which was a little too far away, very small and very disappointing.

We have had to jump through many hoops to get our licenses (car and for me nursing) and insurance. Because it has taken so long to get my nursing license I still haven't been able to apply for a job.

We pay at least a third more for everything.

We got our car towed from a parking lot on a weekend night, requiring  a late night retrieval of the car and a hefty fee to get it back.

Jimmie got hit by a car on his bicycle.

We have had a debacle with the police department over the fault of the accident.

The man that hit Jimmie is now suing us for damages to his car.

We had over a thousand dollars worth of Christmas presents and some pictures of our trip to Italy stolen from our porch.

We had Aubrey in December and we love her so much and are so glad that she is part of our family, but we have had a rough start. She is very colicky and has reflux.

Aubrey had RSV and she and I stayed three days in the hospital.

That may not be an exhaustive list, but it is what I can think of now. The reason that I am writing this is because I am now done worrying about these things. I have spent so much emotional energy on so many of these things and I am tired of doing it!

We have so much to be thankful for! Jimmie is alive and was barely injured. Aubrey is with us and is healthy. Jimmie has a good job with excellent insurance. We have renters in our Kansas house to offset some of our expenses. If we would have continued to go to that Nazarene church we probably would have never met our wonderful group of friends and Ella would not have had the experiences that she has had at church. Our friends and family have been so incredibly supportive of us.

So I am metaphorically throwing this list of things into the fire and letting them go. I may think about them every once in a while, but I refuse to let these things control me any more. Today is a new day and time to remember the things I have to be thankful for. So Connecticut, I'm going to give you another chance. Let's try to have a better relationship from now on, OK?

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends...

No, don't worry, I don't get high with a little help from my friends!

OK, I don't have to words to adequately express my gratitude to this fabulous group of ladies! These are the girls from my small group: Julia, Erin, Kelley, Kim, Sarah and Kristen. We have had a very rough past few months and these girls (and their husbands) have really just carried us when we felt we couldn't go on any longer. They have provided meals, childcare, encouragement, prayer and support among many other things. They have visited us in the hospital, given us lots of very good advice, and provided a lot of fun and laughter, which let's just be honest is what we need the most sometimes!

Melissa also drove up from Maryland for the day to watch Ella and to meet Aubrey. She went above and beyond and I am so grateful! It was so nice to see her and Ella had a lot of fun with her!

Living so far away from home is difficult, especially when you have had some of the things happen that we have these past few months. Having friends like these has really kept us going and we are so grateful for the love that they have shown a family that they didn't even know just four months ago.

"Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back to back and conquest. Three are even better, for a triple braided cord is not easily broken."

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I truly feel that without the friendship that has been given to us we would be defeated. THANK YOU friends for taking care of us!